12.30.2013

How do I stop the madness of crazy bedlines? These are the lines that slither through the lawn without a care in the world. Those new to landscape design often follow this approach: place plants in the ground, then outline each plant on the edge with a bedline, which results in a wiggly array of chaos (see below).

I encourage you to take a step back and think about how landscape design is about creating space. We create the space first (the lawn or patio, for instance), then use the plants to reinforce that space. You can read more about this idea in my Keep it Positive in the Garden post. The bedline is the edge of that space, so it needs to be purposeful to reinforce whatever shape you are creating for the lawn or patio.

Catherine from Garden Drum has a great way to think about this concept. She describes the garden space we are creating as the doughnut hole, while the actual doughnut is the planting bed reinforcing it. The bedline would be the outer edge of the doughnut hole.

There is another benefit to stronger bedlines...less maintenance and easier mowing. Imaging trying to edge all those wiggly curves with a spade, or worse, trying to mow into those tight little crevices. Eek.

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12.12.2013

A great way to add pop to your garden is through contrast. Contrast is an art principle that refers to placing opposing elements together (light/dark, black/white, smooth/rough, etc.) to create visual interest.

In the garden this can be achieved in many ways, but I thought it would be fun to show it simply using a bench tucked into a small planting. A bench can be a great focal point if you heighten it's contrast to the surrounding landscape. Using complimentary colors is a good way to get high contrast. Complimentary colors are those opposite on the color wheel and include these combinations: green and red, orange and blue, plus purple and yellow.

There are times when you might also want low contrast in your garden. Maybe you'd like your bench hidden, so you can slide away to read in quiet or your goal might be a calm, soothing color scheme where everything blends in a tranquil way.

Below I've attempted to show high to low contrast combinations so you can decide what might work best in your garden (yes, I got a little crazy with the mysterious purple plants, but I had to prove my point somehow!). Oh, and the bench design was gently borrowed from Belle Escape.

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12.08.2013

Recently, a friend of mine had a sweet little girl named Poppy. She asked me kindly to create an illustration for her room, so I created the one below. My friend is a horticulturist, so her other daughter is aptly named Violet. What a beautiful pair.

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12.03.2013

Over the last few weeks I've made a lot of big decisions in terms of how I want to focus this blog and share my love of garden design.

In celebration of my birthday and the holiday season, I'd like to toss in one more twist...sharing my eBook, The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden with all of you. This book focuses on my theme garden development process in a whimsical (yet practical) way. I've been developing this process for a long time and just want to share it with the world (no need to hide behind a price tag anymore).

Once you read through this book you'll begin to understand me as a designer and illustrator...and hopefully be inspired along the way. The only thing I ask in return is that you sign up to receive my email updates (which really isn't a lot...typically once a week). That's it!

You can read more about my eBook here or just sign up for your free copy by clicking the blue circle below.

I hope you enjoy this new journey into the magical world of garden design...and happy holidays!

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